The Effect of Hydrostatic Pressure on Structure, Crystal‐Field Strength, and Emission Properties of Neat and Ni2+‐Activated KMgF3

Abstract To understand excellent emission and sensitivity for hydrostatic pressure luminescent ions host material, the first principles calculations carried out within density functional theory (DFT) framework are performed to clarify the electronic structure of neat and doped with Ni 2+ ions KMgF 3 single crystals. The results of band structure calculations show that F2 p states are the principal contributors to the KMgF 3 valence band, mainly in its upper and central parts, while in the energy band gap of the KMgF 3 :Ni 2+ phosphor, new electronic states associated with the Ni 2+ 3 d ‐orbitals are formed. Furthermore, the zero phonon line (ZPL) spin‐forbidden transition emission energies, ( 3 A 2 ⇄ 1 E) ZPL , ( 3 A 2 ⇄ 3 T 2 ) ZPL , strength of the octahedral crystal field, 10 Dq ( 3 A 2 → 3 T 2 ) ZPL , are calculated for the KMgF 3 :Ni 2+ phosphor. Any changes of the E m ( 3 A 2 ⇄ 1 E) ZPL transition energy of the KMgF 3 :Ni 2+ phosphor with pressure increasing from 0 to 20 GPa are not detected, while the crystal‐field strength increases linearly with increasing pressure. Present results bring a foresight tool for predicting physicochemical properties of undoped and doped wide‐gap fluorides; KMgF 3 :Ni 2+ , without any toxic/harmful or expensive rare‐earth can be effectively used as an optical manometer in 0–20 GPa, which covers the almost whole pressure range available at present in Diamond anvil cell experiments.